Mother, daughter reunited after 37 years
Esther Jameena Jording waits impatiently on the second story of a house in Khulna town. An American citizen, she ended up in Khulna tracing her long lost roots, her biological mother.
Nurjahan Begum, a woman in her sixties, slowly climbs up the stairs. As a mother who always believed her long lost child is alive, this moment is still surreal, considering the way life turned out for her daughter.
As she finally stands in front of Esther, the child she lost some 37 years ago, a moment of silence follows. Then, both women burst into tears as they hug each other.
Their story sounds like a movie. In 1977, Nurjahan gave birth to a baby girl, her fifth child, whom she named Jameela. To her husband Mohon Gazi, a new baby meant an extra mouth to feed, as the family was struggling to stay afloat. He wanted to put baby Jameela up for adoption, but Nurjahan strongly resisted. Then one day, as Nurjahan went to work at a nearby brick field five days after giving birth, Mohon took the baby to AG mission orphanage, and sold her there for Taka 500.
When Nurjahan came back home, Mohon told her that somebody stole their baby.
Eight months later, an American couple named Marrie and Pete visited the orphanage where Jameela was sold. They adopted her, and took her to the US with them. Thus, Jameela became Esther.
Flash forward to 2013. Esther was living with her husband Lance Jording and their three sons, when she struck up a friendship with Naureen Saira and Naheed Brown, two Bangladesh born sisters residing in the US. As their friendship grew stronger, Esther opened up to the sisters about her interest in finding her birth mother, and they offered their support immediately.
First, her native village in Khulna was located, based on Esther’s first passport. Later, Naheed contacted her cousin Abu Sharif Hussain, who lives in Khulna town. After nearly a year long search, Sharif traced Esther’s mother Nurjahan, to a village in Mongla. A DNA test in January later confirmed that Nurjahan was, in fact, Esther’s mother.
Esther, along with Naheed, reached Khulna on 27 June. She met Nurjahan the next day at Sharif’s house. The 37 year long absence and language barrier notwithstanding, nothing came between the love of a mother and her daughter.
“I always held on to the faith that my daughter is alive. I am over the moon since she returned,” said Nurjahan.
Esther is just as happy. “I couldn’t wait to see her. I can’t express how happy I am in words,” she said.
Naheed Brown said, “After thirty seven years of anticipation and two years of efforts, Esther is now reunited with her mother. She finally found her roots.”